Lumen Impact Group
Lumen Impact Group

Gave Up on Your New Year’s Resolution? This Is for You.

Published: March 2, 2022
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Like many teams and individuals around the world, you may have started this year off setting big goals. We certainly did! 2021 was an incredible year for us at Lumen Impact Group with our team growing from two employees to five (more on that later). As last year was wrapping up, we knew we were ready for some big, exciting January goals.  

But we have all been there: how many years have you set that New Year’s Resolution, and by February you are back to your old habits? The odds that your exercise or cleaning regime has taken a hit by March is pretty high. 

If we’ve learned anything over the past two years, it’s that we need smaller goals as well – digestible targets to support our big, exciting dreams. Some days you’re going to hit all your marks and crush your goals. Other days it’s going to be a win if you don’t set your home office on fire or throw your laptop out the window. 

So, how do we dream big while also having reasonable expectations? What do those New Year’s resolutions look like?

We sought out to create such resolutions last November, when our full team gathered in person for the first time. Our team had multiplied in 2021, going from a team of two— Lisa Diaz and Stephanie VanDyk— to a team of five. With our three new incredibly gifted members— Dr. Laura Groth, Kelly Cadman, and Cori Egan— we were ready to hit the ground running. 

In the past, we found ourselves building the plane as we were flying it. Our weekend was focused on setting goals around what the plane should look like, how it should fly, and where it should go. How would our proverbial plane deal with delays or events beyond our control? What daily and weekly maintenance can we schedule in order to keep the plane in working order?

The Lumen team asked these questions to develop a strategy that celebrates the little goals, which lead to observable, measurable impact. And for that, we’re learning the value in thinking smaller, like Sarah Von Bargen does with her “Every *Darn* Day Lists.” We need big, exciting January 1 goals, but we also need middle-of-February-why-is-it-still-winter, what-do-you-mean-school-is-virtual-again goals. 

Because let’s be honest, we don’t always have the time and space to tackle those bigger strategic priorities every day. These are the goals that may not be super exciting, but we know we must reach them if we want to maintain a foundation for impact and success. Sometimes just maintaining that foundation is enough of a win for the day.

So, here’s the question: what is the minimum success you need to count that day as a win? The Lumen team can end a not-perfect day saying “at least I was able to  …” 

  • intentionally connect with a teammate. — Stephanie 
  • take a break that was more productive and useful than scrolling news feeds, like taking a walk, meditating, or reading an article. — Laura 
  • read all my emails, or at least skim the subject lines and acknowledge that they exist — Lisa 
  • push every priority forward at least a little bit, so everything is in better shape than it was the day before. Nothing is becoming so stagnant that I’ll be afraid to come back to it. — Cori 
  • update and review my project task list, so I know what’s coming tomorrow. — Kelly 

Could this strategy help you and your team set up your new year for success now that some time has passed since you set those big fun January resolutions? Create your own version of an “every darn day” list, and put it on your desk. Maybe grab a mini white board that can sit next to your computer (we love this one). Even a sticky note will do!

It’s March 2022. We’re in it, and the daily work can be hard when the shine of the new year has dimmed a bit. We hope that with a few daily wins, you’ll be able to feel a little of the January 1st sparkle in between the moments when you get to think and win bigger.

Testimonials

"“They don’t tell you what you want to hear. They tell you what you need to hear. That makes a huge difference. We needed to understand our weaknesses in order to make the organization work right, and I was overwhelmed by how they really got it and they helped us to get it too. They were able to do it in a way that really made me want to understand the goals we needed to focus on. I believe Lumen was absolutely the best we could have found.”"
Barbara Sellinger
Cresthaven Academy
"“I’ve been in nonprofits for 30+ years and have used the services of many consultants, but I have never been so comfortable with their commitment to helping us. It was as if the Lumen team shared our need to have a successful outcome and they were committed to the notion that they would indeed bring value to what we were doing.“ "
Caroline Novak
Alabama School Readiness Alliance
"“The Lumen team did a really good job sharing the hard truths with us. Their findings were different from what we were expecting, but they used the information to push us farther than we originally planned. They were candid and didn’t hide anything from us. We’re now on the path to developing products that are very different from what we’ve done before but are hopefully much more useful for the people we serve.” "
Drew Jacobs
National Alliance of Public Charter Schools
"“The management of a federal CSP grant is a really niche area that requires a tremendous depth of expertise and technical know-how. You need to have a microscopic attention to detail when it comes to compliance and reporting timeliness. The Lumen team is excellent at all of the above." "
Tyler Barnett
New Schools for Alabama
"“In my coaching, we make really strong, specific plans for next steps and then we follow up on them in our next conversation. We try to keep those next steps really manageable. When I’m busy, I can’t layer a ton of personal growth on top of my other responsibilities, so we make plans for growth that are baked into the work I’m already doing. That has been really helpful for me.” "
Kristen Forbriger
City Fund